MATHIS, Texas — If you’re standing at the edge of Lake Corpus Christi nearest to the entrance of the park, just last year you’d be completely submerged in water.
The water would come up to the palm trees at the edge of the lake, but now much of the lake is dried up.
Now, what used to be the middle of the lake, has become the edge of the lake.
The water at the lake has dried up about 20 percent compared to last year.
Edgar Lopez has been going to Lake Corpus Christi for about a year and a half now, spending Wednesday afternoon fishing with his family.
“It was past the little first grassland area here,” Lopez explained as he pointed towards the water from where the lake used to be.
He said he’s noticed the pier is sinking a little and fish aren’t swimming over to the edge of the lake like they used to.
“We’re going to have to wade out, walk out to the middle, probably about waist deep minimum and have to catch from there. Catching from here, they’re not going to reach you,” Lopez said at the lake's edge.
Jesse Barrientez, the lake’s maintenance specialist said because of the lower lake levels, they had to close one of their boat ramps.
Because of that, fewer people are going to the lake and that means less revenue.
“We don’t want boaters and jet skiers when they’re launching for their trailers, for their axles to drop at the end of the boat ramp,” Barrientez said.
They’re still monitoring water levels at the second boat ramp. When asked if the park would close completely if lake levels got too low, Barrientez said that would not be the case.
However, lower lake levels weren’t stopping Cody Luckenbach and his 8-year-old son Harper from going to the lake on Wednesday for the first time.
Luckenbach said lower lake levels can make a difference when it comes to fishing.
“Water levels will definitely have a big impact on the fisheries and the habitats for the fish to live in and so forth, and certainly make it difficult for fisherman finding structure and so forth,” he said.
